Paula Radcliffe’s marathon ‘world record’ no longer recognised

PAULA RADCLIFFE’S time of two hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds set in the 2003 London Marathon will no longer be classed as a world record for the distance after the sport’s governing body the IAAF changed the criteria.

PAULA RADCLIFFE’S time of two hours 15 minutes and 25 seconds set in the 2003 London Marathon will no longer be classed as a world record for the distance after the sport’s governing body the IAAF changed the criteria.

The changes, made at the recent World Championships in South Korea, specify that only times achieved in all-women competitions will be acknowledged for world record purposes.

Performances achieved in mixed conditions will now be referred to only as “world best”.

This means that Radcliffe’s 2003 mark is no longer the world record, as she ran it in a mixed-race after following male pacemakers. The 37-year-old’s London marathon time of 2:17:42 from 2005 is now classed as the world record.

The World Marathon Majors (WMM) and the Association of International Marathons (AIMS) made a statement following the decision, saying they did not believe the changes represent what is required by the sport of road running.